


Flowers and Blueberry Muffins - Ice Skating

by ServantOfMischief



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: A side-story to Flowers and Blueberry Muffins, Asa as Uta's cousin, Asa gets to know Rei a little bit more, Asa is protective of her cousin, Everyone but Uta knows how to skate, Fluff, Human AU, Man-flu, Tsumugi as Uta and Asa's grandmother, Uta as the pastel florist, Uta gets sick, Uta wants to learn how to skate, as a thank you, dedicated to Ginkochama, flower shop au, happy stuff, it is that bad, tokyo ghoul - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 07:26:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17997479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ServantOfMischief/pseuds/ServantOfMischief
Summary: Asa doesn't quite know if Fujioka Rei is someone good for her cousin, and worries he might have fallen into another trap.





	Flowers and Blueberry Muffins - Ice Skating

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ginkochama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginkochama/gifts).



“Cousin, what’s the point of this?” Asa asks as she leads Uta through the ice rink.

 

“Because Rei-san likes skating. And why are you better than me?” He asks as he tries to keep his feet from going on their own merry way or crossing and making him fall over like a ragdoll.

 

“Everyone here is better than you.” Asa rolls her eyes, one hand releasing his to gesture to everyone else in the hall. The florist flails like a kite caught in a strong gust of wind and nearly falls over. Asa is tempted to let him but grabs a hold of him and steadies him. As fun as it’ll be to see her cousin’s girlfriend tease him for his bruises, she knows it won’t be worth it in the end, because Uta will most definitively get back at her for it.

 

“Is it worth the bruises though? Did she ask you do learn how to do it?” Asa prods and Uta shakes his head. The blonde teenager frowns, tilting her head. She’s no stranger to his past with relationships and women in general. The only one Asa has ever met, and liked, amongst Uta’s female friends is Itori, and that is only because the redheaded bartender is actually a friend of the florist who’s stuck by him since middle school.

 

And never cared about his money. Or the money he’ll most likely inherit from their grandmother. Uta may be adopted, but he’s her family nonetheless, and Asa is fiercely protective of her family.

 

“Does she know you are granny’s grandson?” He looks up at the scowl on Asa’s face and shakes his head.

 

“I haven’t told her my last name, so probably not. Don’t you like her, Asa-kun?” Asa has only ever seen Rei once, and that was when she came by for their first date, with those two giggly friends of hers. She seems a nice enough woman, but they’ve never talked, and therefore Asa doesn’t really have an opinion on her, other than the instinctive dislike she’s grown to develop towards anyone who dates Uta. She blows out a puff of air.

 

“Are you serious about her, Uta?”

 

“Why, are you jealous?” He smirks and Asa scowls, letting go off him and putting some distance between them.

 

“Oh shit, oh fu-“ His feet disappear from under him and he falls over backwards, It is a comical sight, and Asa can’t help the snort that escapes her as he groans. She knows it’s not a pleasant feeling, hitting the ice when falling, but in all honesty, he had asked for it, _begged_ for it really. And whatever retaliation he comes up with will be very much worth it, she thinks as he slowly sits up.

 

“That was mean, Asa-kun.”

 

“I’m trying to be serious here!” The teenager snaps and he blinks.

 

“Are you trying to look out for me?” Yes, she is, but now that he points it out, looking so surprised she finds herself blushing and feeling a bit foolish. She reaches out and helps him up on his feet again, and they continue with the lessons.

 

“So what if I am?”

 

“You’re so cute, Asa-kun.”

 

“I will drop you.” She warns darkly and he makes a motion as if zipping his mouth shut, and nearly falls over again.

 

“How about you let go only when you’re actually steady enough on your feet to skate on your own, idiot?”

 

“You make a fair point.” He agrees as they reach the end of the rink and turn around to move across the ice again.

 

“Okay, listen, I care about you, Uta, and you have a shitty history with women, so yes, I’m looking out for you. And if I get even the slightest inkling that she’s a bitch, I will drop-kick her out of your life.” She can see the corners of his mouth twitch upwards as he tries to stop a smirk from spreading on his face.

 

“I’m glad you’re watching my back, Asa-kun.” He says and pats the top of her head.

 

Then his left foot surges upwards and he lays flat on his back already as the teenager lets go before he can drag her down with him.

 

“Uta, we just talked about this…” Asa tries so hard to contain her laughter as her cousin lays on the ice, groaning in pain.

 

“But really, you’ve got no talent for ice skating. Let it go.”

 

“But Rei-san likes-“

 

“Doesn’t matter, cousin. You suck at it, so you guys will have to find something else to do on your dates. Or go on dinner dates, like normal people do.” He frowns as he reaches out for her to help him up again.

 

“You might be right. I just would have liked to be good enough that we could skate together sometime. I know a lot of couples do on special days. Her mother was the Japanese champion once, and she looked up to her. So I thought learning how to skate would be nice for her, and I could partake in one of her hobbies.” Asa blinks, wondering which champion Uta is talking about, as she can’t quite recall Rei’s last name, but the sentiment of why Uta wants to learn is nice, sweet even. Which gives Asa an idea.

 

“What is her name again? If you think it’ll mean so much to her, why not let her teach you?” She can practically see the lightbulb light up above his head as he stares at her.

 

“Fujioka- ah, you’ve said something clever!”

 

“I _will_ drop you.”

 

“Please don’t, I hurt all over.” He complains and asks her to lead him off so he can get back home.

 

Asa herself makes a phone call the moment she gets home.

 

“ _Brat.”_

 

“Old hag.” Asa can practically imagine her grandmother’s knuckles turn white around her cane.

 

“ _If I was there….”_ Her grandmother mutters on the other end and Asa grins.

 

“You’d whack me over the head with your cane, I know, I know. I have sent every last invite you wanted me to, by the way, and still think that sending out invites months in advance is overkill. Oh, and Uta will be bringing his girlfriend, probably.”

 

“ _Uta’s what now?”_  And Asa realizes that Uta might not have told their grandmother about his latest adventures.

 

“… Ops?” But she is not going to play dumb and retrace her steps either.

 

“ _Asa, Uta’s what?”_

 

“Girlfriend. He’s been dating this woman who came by his shop a few weeks ago for a flower decoration. She seems like a nice person-“

 

“ _I’ll be the judge of that.”_

 

“You know, for all you going around acting like you don’t care, you care an awful lot.” Asa teases her and the old lady huffs on the other side.

 

 _“I care. In my own way.”_ And that is true, Asa thinks. Tsumugi cares, she always has, because if she doesn’t, she’d never allow her and Uta the freedom they’ve had since they were children.

 

“Uta hasn’t told her his last name, so she only thinks he’s a florist. If she meets you, and puts two and two together, what do you think will happen?”

 

_“Either she’ll be worth it, or I will hunt her down with my cane.”_

 

“At some point, some authority will take that cane away from you. You’re not freaking Gandalf.”

 

“ _Who?_ ” Asa rolls her eyes, not really surprised the reference goes above her grandmother’s head. She chats with the lady some more, going through how her week has been, how her grades are and how she has helped Uta out at his shop a few times, to which Tsumugi grumbles something about the man finding himself a part-timer worker soon, before she tries to explain why Tsumugi should be careful with Rei. Asa doesn’t know why she’s doing it, but perhaps it is because her cousin seemed a little bit happier after having met the woman. Perhaps it is because so far, the woman has been nothing but nice, and she dates Uta even though she thinks he is a florist only, and not some heir to a rich family.

 

“ _What’s this girl’s name anyway?”_

“Um, Fujioka Rei, if I remember correctly. Uta mentioned something about her mom being a Japanese champion in figure skating once.” There’s a pause on the other end before her grandmother hums.

 

“I see.” Asa knows her grandmother loves watching figure skating, forced her and Uta to watch with her, well actually Uta liked watching the skaters too, it was just Asa who didn’t particularly find it exciting. Perhaps Tsumugi knows who Rei’s mother is, who knows?

 

“ _Still, I will have to have a chat with him where he tells me why he keeps these things from me.”_

 

“Perhaps because of your tendency to overreact way out of proportions?”

 

“ _When have I ever overreacted?”_

 

“I have a list, a very long list. Do you want me to go through it?” Tsumugi harrumphs loudly on the other side and the conversation quickly ends. The next morning, she receives a call from Uta, asking her to come and open the shop for him.

 

“Why?”

 

“… I am sick.”

 

“You never get sick.”

 

“I know.” He complains on the other side and Asa knows that if she has to go up and take care of him too, alongside watching out for his shop, it’s going to be a long day. Uta hardly ever gets sick, but when he does, he is an absolute baby.

 

“I’ll be there. You really should get a part-timer for this, you know. If it was a school day, you’d have to close shop.”

 

“Then I’d have to close shop.” He says on the other end and she sighs. It is not how she had imagined spending her Saturday, but she’ll help him out.

 

The day is slow. Usually he gets a lot of customers on Saturdays, but apparently not today. But that is okay too. Asa has an essay to write, and she brought her books with her just in case she would get some free time. So she starts taking notes, come up with several approaches to her assigned theme before the bell chimes. Asa glances at the clock, it’s already four in the afternoon, and looks up, only to see Rei stand by the counter, a small smile on her face.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Welcome.” Asa says, plastering on a pleasant smile.

 

“You’re Asa-san, right? Uta-san’s cousin? Is he out?” Rei asks and the teenager inspects her and keeps chanting in her head that this woman has done nothing to make Asa dislike her.

 

Yet.

 

“Yeah and no but-“ The phone to the store starts ringing and Rei nods towards it, silently telling Asa that it is okay to answer and that she can wait. So Asa answers, and then sighs.

 

“Uta, did you seriously call the phone for that? I’m right downstairs.” Rei tilts her head, curious as she hears Asa talk.

 

“I promise, I’ll get it when I can close for lunch-break, but I can’t just- no I really can’t just walk out, because you told me I can’t do that. No, I’m not being difficult, you’re just being a baby, stop complaining!” Asa hears quiet laughter and glances over towards Rei, who’s trying to contain her giggles. Asa herself doesn’t think it’s all that funny, and feels like telling the other woman off, but first she has to deal with this.

 

“I. Will. Come. By. When. I. Have. My. Lunch. Break. Cousin. So. Go. To. Sleep.” She grounds out and ends the call before he can whine some more.

 

“Family banter is so fun.” Rei muses, and Asa bites back the angry words in her mouth because the woman looks wistful, so the teenager decides to rub the back of her head sheepishly instead.

 

“Yeah, well, Uta is sick today, so I’m taking over for him. And it wasn’t as much family banter as it was him whining and saying he’s hungry and too tired to get things on his own.” The older woman tilts her head again, raising a brow.

 

“Let me guess, he’s got the ‘man-flu’?”

 

“Yes.” Asa nods. “So I have to bring him food, before he becomes more annoying.”

 

“You seem quite backed up already. How about I bring him some food and you can continue your work here? I don’t know how any of this-“ Rei gestures to the register and the shop in general, “-works, but taking care of a victim of the ‘man-flu’ I do know how to do.” She tells the girl.

 

“I’m not sure, I don’t think he’ll want you to see what a whiny baby he is when he’s sick, though.” And then Rei proceeds to smirk devilishly at the teenager.

 

“Isn’t that reason enough to let me?” And Asa agrees that yes, yes it is reason enough to let the older woman go up and take care of her cousin in her stead. So she points her in the general direction of the door and wishes her good luck.

 

Rei feels a bit nervous about going up into Uta’s apartment because she’s never been there before, and he has certainly not invited her up. Perhaps she should have just let the teenager downstairs deal with it, but now she has said she would deal with it, and so she will. She opens the door slowly, and peeks inside. There is no one inside, and she looks around as she toes off her shoes. It is sparsely decorated with furniture, but the sheer amount of plants everywhere gives the place a homey and pleasant feel. It’s not big, but enough for one person. The kitchen and living room is one room, divided only by the kitchen island, and she sees a hallway with three doors. She tests the first one; bathroom. The second one a room with art supplies and a whole of books and sketches littered around. She closes that door and opens the last one. She sees a bed, with a lump hidden beneath and raven hair popping out on top.

 

 _‘Oh dear.’_ She thinks as she moves quietly over to the bed. He’s breathing heavily and seems to be half-asleep. He mutters when she lays a hand on his forehead. He’s got a terrible fever, she realizes and stands up, leaving the room. She rummages through the kitchen, finds a glass and fills it with water, finds some painkillers and some antipyretics. She drops into the bathroom on the way back and finds a cloth and drenches it in cold water, wringing the cloth afterwards. She’s just as quiet when she tiptoes back into his room and helps him sit up.

 

“Here, drink some water and take this medicine.” She tells him quietly and he does as told before she lay him down again, draping the cold cloth across his forehead.

 

“… ‘m ‘ungry.” He grunts and she sucks in her lips in an attempt at not laughing at his grumpy tone. He’s sick, he’s allowed to sound grumpy without her teasing him for it. So she leaves and begins looking through his cabinets and fridge, finding what she needs to make him a chicken soup. Despite his apartment being sparsely decorated in furniture, his fridge is filled with food. At least she won’t have to go shopping for it, and that’ll save her some time.

 

By the time she’s done and is bringing him a bowl and a mug of water, he’s sitting up in bed, looking a little bit better, but still sleepy. He blinks when he sees her though.

 

“Rei-san?” He looks confused and she smiles as she sets the bowl of soup down on his night table.

 

“You look a little bit better. Did some water, medicine and rest help?”

 

“How long have you been here?” He asks as she fills his glass anew.

 

“A couple of hours.” She answers as she presses the palm of her hand to his forehead. She might have just carried in a bowl of warm soup, but her hand feels cool against his skin nonetheless and it is heaven.

 

“Still warm, but not as bad as before.” She murmurs and carefully hands him the bowl. “Eat a bit. You’ll feel better.”

 

“Not that I’m complaining,” he says as he accepts the bowl, “but _why_ are you here?”

 

“I came by when you called Asa-san. She seemed to have enough on her plate, so I volunteered to come up and help you. I hope you don’t mind.” Rei explains and he shakes his head, though he immediately regrets the action, as he feels dizzy and nauseas with the action.

 

“How about you get some food into you. Have you eaten at all today?” He shakes his head and she frowns.

 

“Then eat as much as you can stomach now. You won’t feel better if you’ve got nothing to fight with.” She says as she grabs the cloth and leaves the room. Uta stares for just a moment after her, before he grabs his phone and sends a text to Asa.

 

 _Why is Rei-san up here?_ He doesn’t expect a response quickly, so he sips at the soup. It’s good. Rei knows how to cook as well as bake, he realizes. It’s nice, really, having her come over and take care of him.

 

 _Because she said she could. I was busy._ Is Asa’s reply not even a minute later. He stares at the phone, before narrowing his eyes.

 

_You’re not busy, you’re just lazy._

 

_You’re living the dream now, aren’t you? Stop complaining and appreciate it!_

 

She has a point, he realizes, and drops the phone and goes back to eating just as Rei re-enters the room.

 

“Do you want more?” She asks.

 

“I need to finish this first.” He says. It’s a slow process, but he finishes it, and hands her the bowl, telling her he would like a second helping. Once that is done, he takes more medicine, drinks some water, and lays down, letting her put the cold wet cloth on his forehead again.

 

“I’ve put the soup in the fridge. If you want more, just heat it up. If you get worse, give me a call and I’ll come over.”

 

“Okay.” He agrees, not feeling like arguing with her on the matter. He feels a whole lot better though, so he doubts he’ll ask her to come over and dote on him some more.

 

Which suddenly seem too bad.

 

“I hope you’ll feel better soon.” She says as she gets up but stops when he grabs her wrist.

 

“Rei-san.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“When I get better, can’t you teach me how to skate?” She beams at him and nods, before she finally leaves. Once downstairs, Asa looks up as Rei comes out from the back.

 

“How is he?”

 

“Better, I think. He’s fever’s gone down, at least, and he’s been able to eat a bit. I’ve told him to call me if he gets worse, but if he doesn’t, here.” Rei scribbles down her number and hands it over to Asa, bows and then moves to leave.

 

“Fujioka-san!” The woman stops and turns around, raising a brow in question.

 

“Why are you dating Uta?”

 

“That’s easy.” She says with a bright smile. “He’s a nice person, and that appeals to me. I want to get to know him more, because he saw me when I was at my worst and still stuck around to cheer me up.” Asa stares after the woman, blinking, before looking down at her notebook.

 

Okay, so maybe Fujioka Rei isn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to Ginkochama, for being an absolute doll about Flowers and Blueberry Muffins, and giving me such an adorable gift from it!


End file.
